Biography
Sean Watkins, who belongs to the progressive bluegrass ensemble Nickel Creek, issued his first album in 1991. Nickel Creek itself came together in San Diego in 1990 when Sean, his sister Sara, and the father-and-son team of Scott and Chris Thile joined forces after encountering one another at a regular pizza-parlor performance by the southern California outfit Bluegrass Etc. At age 16, Sean already displayed remarkable ability by advancing to the finals in both mandolin and guitar at the National Flatpicking Championship. By 1994 the band had progressed to the regional round of the Pizza Hut International Bluegrass Band Championship. Their self-titled debut appeared on Sugar Hill Records in May 2000, and the single “Reasons Why” reached the top of the Americana charts. Although rooted in modern folk and bluegrass, the group also draws from sources ranging from alt-pop to Ella Fitzgerald to Beethoven. Two Grammy nominations followed in 2001. That same year Watkins released his debut solo album, Let It Fall, consisting entirely of original instrumentals. Signs of the pop turn that Nickel Creek would pursue surfaced on the stylistically adventurous 26 Miles in 2003, an approach he repeated on the charged Blinders On in 2006. In 2009 he and Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman issued an album under the name Fiction Family. The partnership produced a second release, Fiction Family Reunion, in 2013. During a notably active 2014, Nickel Creek delivered A Dotted Line—their first new material since 2005—while Watkins simultaneously put out the solo album All I Do Is Lie. In 2015 Sean and Sara issued The Watkins Family Hour, the initial studio documentation of their long-running revue at Los Angeles’ Largo, which included appearances by Fiona Apple and Benmont Tench. Early in 2016 Watkins released his fifth solo album, What to Fear.
Albums
Singles
